Due to its unique combination of hardness, wear resistance, low deposition temperature (below 150° C.), biocompatibility, and friction characteristics (friction coefficient below 0.1), DLC is ideally suited for applications in a variety of fields, including tribology, corrosion protection, and medical devices. However, in applications of DLC as hard coatings, the high residual stresses associated with its deposition gives rise to poor adhesion strength, brittle fracture and delamination under high local loading. Referring to FIG. 1A, for example, there is shown a secondary electron microscopy (“SEM”) image of a cross section of ungraded DLC coating 106 deposited on a Titanium-Aluminum-Niobium (Ti6Al7Nb) substrate 102. As shown in FIG. 1, the ungraded DLC coating 106 exhibited poor tolerance for deformations underneath it (“eggshell effect”), and due to its brittleness and low elongation at failure developed cracks 108. Layer 107 is a platinum coating used to enhance conductivity around the ungraded DLC coating 106 deposited on a Titanium-Aluminum-Niobium (Ti6Al7Nb) substrate 102. FIG. 1B illustrates a contrast adjusted SEM image shown in FIG. 1A, which better shows the cracks in the DLC coating. The cracks 108 compromise the integrity of the DLC coating 106 and lead to failure of the DLC coated Ti6Al7Nb substrate 102 (e.g., delaminated prosthesis) by generating hard wear debris. Accordingly, a need exists for more robust coated metal-based prostheses that are able exhibit high tolerance for both elastic and plastic deformations, and therefore prevent development of cracks that compromise the integrity of the coating and the coated prostheses.